


The Story of Hana

by Rockslove



Series: The Story of Hana [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Dancing, F/F, F/M, Girls partying, I changed the age on everybody, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Karaoke, M/M, Marriage, Off Canon, Original Storyline? Don't know her, Sleepovers, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Time Travel, boys being dumb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rockslove/pseuds/Rockslove
Summary: This story was inspired by music and my recent infatuation with Naruto. It is really specific but there are a lot of relationships that you might like. I am not following the canon storyline at all so be warned. This does deal with time travel but later on. Major fights will be in here. It is also a romance. I really suck at summaries so sorry!!
Relationships: Aburame Shino/Hyuuga Hinata, Akimichi Chouji/Karui, Gaara/Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Inuzuka Kiba/Kankurou, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Sai (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s), Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai, Shiranui Genma/Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Umino Iruka/Yamato | Tenzou
Series: The Story of Hana [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152095
Kudos: 10





	1. The Beginning of Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Meet the parents.

“Kai, are you awake?” Natsu softly poked her husband’s arm. It’s still dark outside but she couldn’t fall asleep. Natsu’s mind was restless. She needed to speak to Kai now before she goes crazy. 

“Natsu.. go to sleep. I have to wake up early tomorrow.” Kai grumbled into his pillow. His face was turned towards Natsu as he said this but his eyes were still closed. Natsu huffed as she poked him again but harder. Tonight was rare for the ANBU black op. The Kazekage decided to give him a day off before the mission tomorrow. An early mission if Kai remembered correctly, but his body couldn’t drift off. Natsu was using him as a punching bag. He opened his eyes slowly before he got any more bruises. 

“Honey, I’m worried and I think the baby could feel it.” She sounded concerned. 

Natsu was 9 months pregnant. She was getting close to the due date and lately her anxiety was on high. She didn’t know if it was because of the baby or Kai’s job. There seemed to be more assassination attempts on the Kazekage than ever before. Every time she sent her husband out the door she never knew if this was the last goodbye. Her hands moved to clutch her stomach. No, she couldn’t think like that. She wasn’t going to let her baby grow up without her father.

Kai sensed Natsu’s chakra flare out as she if was anxious. It was something he learned over the years. Natsu was very easy to read by her chakra. She only let it slip in front of Kai. Natsu didn't trust anyone but him. Kai turned his head to look at her. Natsu was still the little girl he remembered from childhood. He looked at her eyes. When Kai was a little boy, the first thing he remembered about his first friend was that she had pretty eyes. Kai’s gaze moved to her bright red hair.  
This was the second thing to draw him in. Her hair was as red as the desert flowers. He moved his hand to touch the ends. 

Natsu relaxed against her husband’s hand. He knew how to always calm her down when her emotions got the best of her. They met each other when they were little. Kai had just moved to Suna from Konoha. He was from the Inuzuka clan. His mother defected because his father was no good or that’s how Kai explained it. He felt like he didn’t need his dad anyways. Kai learned about his heritage from his mom. He wouldn’t be a dog handler now if it wasn’t for his mom. 

Natsu had been living in Suna for two years before Kai got there. She came from Konoha too. Natsu was from the Uzumaki clan. Her story started with her mother waking her up one day in the middle of the night. Her mom told her to pack light. Natsu never got a reason for why they left Konoha. She was too young to remember her dad. Suna became her home quickly. 

Natsu and Kai bonded over this when they met at the ninja academy. They were two of the top graduates. Natsu is fast. Her genjutsu is known across the land as the most powerful. She was the second person in her class to be a taijutsu specialist. Kai is a ninjutsu user. Like Natsu, he is a taijutsu specialist but he was first in the class. This is something Kai likes to tease Natsu about constantly. They were a deadly duo. Both passed the chunin exam at 13 and made jounin by 16 but Kai took it one step further by becoming an ANBU black op. Natsu was a teacher at the academy. They were both top shinobi of the village. Life was busy for a while. 

Then the incident that led to Natsu and Kai getting married five years ago occurred that changed their lives for the better. Kai had a bad mission one day. He was on the brink of death when he stumbled into Natsu’s room practically begging her to marry him. Kai was bleeding out onto her rug. Natsu freaked out by seeing all the blood. She screamed at him to go to the hospital but all that Kai did was wobbly get on one knee. The last thing he remembered before passing out was asking her again to marry him. When he woke up in the hospital, Natsu pulled him into a hug. She was crying but Kai heard her say “Yes, you big idiot.” 

Kai explained later that during his mission where he almost died. He realized that getting married wouldn’t affect his work as a shinobi. Death doesn’t discriminate so it didn’t matter if he was a rule follower or not. Kai could die today or 10 years from now. He didn’t want to die regretting anything. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with his first and only love. They had to ask for Kazekage's approval before anything. Rasa was a hard man to convince sometimes. He only gave his blessing after they explained their plan. Natsu wanted to retire but Kai would still be his ANBU black op. The Kazekage was okay with this because Kai was the best shinobi on the team. They had a small ceremony that cemented their love for each other in writing. It was the best day for both of them. Now at 24 years old, they wanted to try for a family. 

Once Natsu got pregnant, Kai always made sure she never did any heavy lifting. He was getting very protective of her. Kai was to hate if something happened to her. Natsu thought it was annoying but never told her husband that. She already felt bad that he missed out on doctor visits because of missions. Months have passed now she was the size of a whale in her words, not her husband's. Natsu smiled as she looked into her husband's eyes. His brown hair was sticking all over the place. She could tell he was extremely tired but always the gentleman, Kai was worried about her. Her eyes traveled to his cheeks. Sometimes she wished he had the Inuzuka tattoos but he left too early to get them. She felt his hand stop twirling her red hair. Kai spoke softly. His voice was laced with exhaustion.

“Was there ever a time where I didn’t come home to you?” He was gazing into her eyes. Natsu gulped before she spoke. She forgot how much Kai affected her so much.

“I know but lately the missions have been more dangerous. For some reason, everybody has it out for the Kazekage. I just feel like something is going to happen. Remember we have somebody else to look after, you promised me that I wasn’t going to be raising her alone.” Natsu had tears in her eyes. She was rubbing her belly in slow circles. Natsu could feel the baby move in her stomach. She thought about how powerful a shinobi this baby was going to be.

Kai moved slowly towards Natsu. He was stretching out his right hand to cup her face.

“Listen to me, I will return to you. This baby is due any day and I’m not going to miss it. We are going to have a little shinobi on our hands. Hopefully, I can get her a little ninja dog.” Kai was smiling as he bent to kiss Natsu’s belly. Her hand was brushing through his scruffy hair.

Kai looked up at Natsu. His eyes were so full of love. “Now my beautiful wife, get some sleep. I have to be up early and I just want to rest with you in my arms. Tomorrow you’ll send me off with a kiss then I’ll be back for dinner. Okay?” Kai threw her a wide smile so that Natsu could see his fangs. Her husband came towards her. Her arms wrapped around his middle. Natsu liked to hear the sound of his heartbeat as she slept. The heart that only beat for her.

“Okay my darling” Natsu closed her eyes but she couldn’t throw off the feeling that something was coming. Something she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to.


	2. The Reality of a Shinobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reality is nothing goes how you want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry!

Kai opened his eyes to their bedroom. The sunlight was streaming through the window. The colors of the room mixed together to make a warm setting. There was nothing more Kai wanted to do than to lay here with his wife. Unfortunately, the reality of his situation was that Kai needed to get his butt out of bed so he could start his day. The scratching coming from the other side of the door must be his ninja dog. 

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up.” He slowly lifted his body to sit at the edge of the bed. Taiki was growling from the other side of the door. 

“Honey, I think our alarm clock is mad at us.” Kai was gently shaking Natsu as he said this. Natsu was always a late sleeper. During her shinobi years that was a problem, Kai always had to drag her out of bed sometimes just so they wouldn’t miss mission report time. 

“Kai.. stop bothering me.” Natsu swatted his hand away. She rolled over onto her side grumbling about him waking her up from a dream. 

Kai sighed to himself. It seemed nothing changed with Natsu. Luckily, Kai always had a plan for this. He knows that if Natsu doesn’t wake up now she is going to be upset later. Natsu likes saying goodbye to him before missions. Kai found that if you want Natsu up, then you have to entice her with food. 

Kai crawled over to Natsu, careful not to startle her. He didn’t need another bruise. Slowly looming over her face, he pushed the hair covering her ear out of the way. Her eyes were still close so his plan was sure to work. Kai bent down and said the nine magic words.

“Do you want me to make you some miso soup?” 

Natsu’s eyes opened so fast that Kai thought she hurt herself. Her face instantly turned to his. It didn’t look tired like before. 

“Why didn’t you say so before?” Natsu was already out of bed. She was heading to the door. 

“Wait I thought you were tired!.” Kai was pointing at Natsu. 

“Well, now I’m hungry! So I’ll take the dog out and you will start to make breakfast.” Natsu gave him a wide smile. 

“Sounds fair.” Kai was wanting to say no fair but when you have a former top shinobi as your wife you learn how to hold your tongue. 

“Come on Taiki! Hopefully, you don’t kill anything this time.” With that Natsu left the room as fast as a 9-month pregnant woman can, Kai chuckled to himself now he can start getting ready for the day. 

He moved to his closet to get his clothes. The ANBU black op outfit was all black and simple. It was meant to be intimidating but also something you can wear to become invisible. The straps were thick but movable. There was nothing appealing about the outfit but after years of wearing it, Kai saw it as a second skin. It was a part of him as much as Natsu was. He grabbed the outfit and started to get undressed. He slipped easily in the ANBU uniform. He made sure he looked presentable in the outfit. Kazekage Rasa liked his shinobi to be appropriate and clean. After giving himself a once over, Kai grabbed his mask. The mask was the last thing to complete the outfit. Once you put on the mask, you didn’t have an identity. You belonged to the village and nobody else. The mask used to feel heavy to Kai but now he had something to look forward to after missions. The mask didn’t feel heavy anymore. 

After getting dressed, Kai went downstairs to work on Natsu’s miso soup. For some reason, she only liked when he made it. He heard the back door open. Natsu’s chakra was happy as she walked towards him. 

“Guess what? Taiki didn’t eat any scorpions. He did get stuck in some bushes but that was easily fixed.” Natsu sat down at the table. Her red hair was sticking with sweat and her face was red. Kai served her the miso. 

“I hope you didn’t do anything strenuous. Remember what the doctor said about taking it easy.” Kai couldn’t help but be concerned. His wife never really was “the sit down and be still type”. 

“Babe, I was careful so don’t worry.” Natsu was smiling down at her soup. 

Kai served his plate and sat down. They said thanks and started to eat. They sat in companionable silence but then Kai felt Natsu’s chakra become nervous again. He looked over at her. Natsu had stopped eating her soup. She was looking out the window with a frown on her face. 

“Natsu, what’s wrong?” Kai was getting concerned again. He never liked it when his wife got quiet. 

Natsu looked over at him. She knew it was childish but something just didn’t make her feel right about today. 

“How long are you going to be gone?” Her voice was soft. 

“He told us nine hours at the most.” Kai reached out his hand to hold Natsu’s. He looked her straight in the eyes. “I told you that I will always return to you. I will fight until the end to make it to you and the baby.” Kai put as much love and devotion that he can into his words. 

“I know. I guess it’s just the pregnancy hormones.” Natsu rubbed her eyes with her free hand, “Now finish your soup, I don’t want you being late.”

“The roles are reversed huh?” Kai liked to tease his wife. Her cheeks usually got red as her hair. 

“Shut up idiot.” Natsu smiled as she started eating again. 

An hour later they found themselves in front of their house. It was still early in the morning but the air around them was starting to get warm and sticky. Kai and Natsu stood staring at each other. Natsu’s dress was blowing from the wind around them. 

“Now Taiki, take care of Kai here, you know how he makes stupid decisions sometimes.” Kai scoffed at his wife’s joke. Natsu received a bark from Taiki. She turned to her husband. “I love you. Remember your promise.” She hugged Kia tightly. 

“I love you too. Try not to get in any trouble.” He was talking into her shoulder as he said this. He gently kissed her on her cheek. Kai then moved to one knee. Natsu can hear him say, “I love you”, to her belly. Natsu was trying not to cry in front of him. Kai stood up to put on his mask. In one swift movement, he and Taiki were gone. 

Natsu only stared into the sky for a little while. She didn’t believe in a god but right now she was praying. Praying that her husband will return to her. After her moment was over, Natsu decided to get in the house. There was no use wasting the day just standing here. Natsu wanted to make ramen for dinner. It would be a treat for Kai when he came home. 

The next four hours were spent cleaning the house. The kitchen was cleaned from breakfast. She made sure to clean the bathrooms without hurting herself. Their bedroom was organized from head to toe. The last place she cleaned was the nursery. The nursery was big with stuffed dogs and toads. The crib was in the corner with a mobile on top of shuriken. Pictures lined the wall on the left. Natsu made her way to the wall. 

She looked at a picture of Natsu and Kai when they were younger. Natsu smiled when she saw it was the day they both graduated from the academy. Their moms were so excited for them. Natsu remembered being forced to put her arm around Kai. In the picture, you can see a blush on Natsu and Kai’s face. Kai admitted later that he had a crush on Natsu since their childhood. A knock on the door made Natsu come out of her reverie. She wondered who it could be, Kai wasn’t due home in five hours. 

“I’m coming!” Natsu screamed from upstairs. She walked as fast as she could downstairs

Natsu threw the door open and came face to face with the Kazekage’s wife. 

Natsu froze for a moment, her brain went haywire. Lady Karura  _ never _ left her house unless it was important. Natsu’s body started to shake. Her hands flew fast to grab the door. She was having a tough time controlling her chakra. Something bad had to have happened. 

“Oh um Lady Karura. It is an honor to see. For what do I receive this honor?” Natsu tried her best to bow. She can feel her legs start to turn to jelly. Why was she here? 

Lady Karura’s face started to soften. Natsu always thought that Karura was nicer than her husband. Her blond hair and round face made people feel comfortable with her. She was a soft-spoken woman but at the same time passionate when she needed to be. Natsu’s nerves were eating at her as the silence grew.  _ Why was she here? _

“Natsu, something terrible has happened. The mission the Kazekage was on got ambushed. I’m afraid that Kai and Taiki died protecting the Kazekage.” Karura's voice fell off at the end. 

  
  


Natsu stopped breathing. Her muscles felt tight. She wanted to throw up her breakfast. 

Her body wasn't responding to her. Her whole world had shattered right in front of her. 


	3. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life doesn't stop for anyone.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This couldn’t be real. He said he would come back. He  _ promised _ her he would come back. Natsu slowly fell onto her knees. Her body was under too much stress to hold her up. She didn’t care how this looked. Her husband, the love of her life, was dead. He was never coming back. This was a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. 

Her baby,  _ their baby _ , was going to grow up without a father. Natsu let out a sob. He promised he wouldn’t do this to her. 

Karura watched as the former shinobi broke down in front of her. Lady Karura wanted to help Natsu somehow but she couldn’t relate to this. Rasa and she just got married 2 years ago. They didn’t have any children yet and Yashamaru, Karura’s brother, is still alive. There was nothing Karura could do to console Natsu. All she could do was watch over the grieving mother.

“Natsu, be careful, you could hurt yourself.” Karura was talking slowly and quietly. She tried to approach Natsu but she hit a wall. 

Karura was confused for a second. She was close to getting help but then realized what was happening. Natsu had lost control of her chakra. The stories of Natsu’s immense chakra had been famous in the village. Karura deduced that the immense emotional situation that Natsu is in had made the former shinobi’s chakra create some sort of barrier. Trying to get closer to Natsu was too difficult. Karura got as close to Natsu as she could but it was so powerful that Karura couldn’t stand up. The emotions that Natsu was going through were so painful. Karura could feel it all. If Natsu kept going on like this then the situation could turn dangerous. Karura needed to calm her down. 

“Natsu, please, calm down.” Karura couldn’t even reach Natsu. She didn’t even think Natsu could hear her. 

Natsu was crying too loud. The Uzumaki's mind was running through every single memory with Kai. She should have tried harder to make him stay. A part of Natsu knew she was being childish. The reality of their situation is that it was never going to end how they wanted it to. A shinobi doesn’t get to live their happy ending, that’s just a fact. Natsu remembers how unhappy Kai was the first time they met. 

_ “What’s wrong with you?” Natsu was looking down at a little boy who was cowering in the corner.  _

_ She heard that this little boy had just moved here from Konoha. From the looks of it, he wasn’t too outgoing, He mostly stayed with himself but something about him was fascinating.  _

_ “Leave me alone.” The boy gave her a dirty look but all Natsu did was smile back.  _

_ Natsu stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Natsu. What’s your name?” _

_ The boy was surprised that she didn’t leave him be. He reached out to her tentatively.  _

_ “I’m Kai.” _

Natsu’s whole body shook with more sobs. Why did it have to be him? After becoming friends with him, Natsu realized how Kai just needed to be pushed out of his shell. They both became best of friends then when they got older it became something more. The first time they confessed to each other was a bittersweet memory. 

_ Kai had taken her out to the desert to train. Natsu was confused the whole time because Kai was acting really weird. He kept staring at her when he thought she wasn’t looking.  _

_ “Your acting weirder than usual.” Natsu had finally had enough of it. She stopped running beside Kai.  _

_ Kai had tripped over himself in the process. He never was this clumsy.  _

_ Natsu marched over to him. One thing she hated was being kept from a secret. Kai started blushing. His attempts at crawling away were futile.  _

_ Natsu got to him and crouched low enough to get in his face.  _

_ “Spill it.” It was a simple command.  _

_ Kai averted his eyes. His whole face had turned red. He knew it was now or never.  _

_ “I like you.” Kai had whispered it but Natsu still heard. Kai’s face was red and not just because of the exercise.  _

_ Her mouth dropped in shock. She couldn’t believe it.  _

_ Kai started to move away, thinking he got rejected. Natsu knew it was her chance to tell him the truth.  _

_ “Wait, Kai! Um... I like you too.” _

Natsu remembered how happy he was. They dated for a while but then ANBU happened. They took a break but it was short-lived. They made their way back to each other eventually. 

The pain of these memories was too much. Natsu’s hands made it to her stomach. Look at where this ended. Their family was broken. Natsu could hear somebody yell her name but she didn’t care. 

Then Natsu heard a whisper, it was faint. It felt like there was a familiar presence on her side

. 

“Natsu, darling, please calm down.” It was a man’s voice. 

Natsu stopped crying when she realized who it was. Kai was speaking to her. He was here. 

“Natsu, I’m so sorry. I tried to come back. I really did. I fought so hard but in the end, I lost. Natsu I hope you can forgive me but, please, you need to calm down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself or the baby. You have to be strong. Be strong for the baby. I promise when you get here, you can beat my ass for how long you want but for now take care of yourself. Teach our child how to be strong and kind. Teach her to be a good shinobi. Tell her stories about her badass father. I love you Natsu. I hope you can forgive me. I’ll be waiting.” Those were the last words she heard as her husband’s chakra left.

Natsu could feel her body stop shaking. She chuckled to herself. Kai always knew what to say to her. 

“I swear when I get there I’ll keep that promise and beat your ass.” Natsu looked up at the sky. 

Kai was right. Life was different now. She had a baby to take care of. Natsu slowly got up from the floor. This grief would never leave her but there was somebody else to think of. Kai would live on in her heart for now, until she gets to see him again. It completely slipped her mind that Lady Karura was there. Natsu scrubbed her face from the tears. 

“Natsu let me get you into your house for some tea.” Karura was relieved that Natsu was better.

Natsu shook her head and made her way to the door but the pain stopped her. She clutched her stomach and grabbed the door. 

“I’m sorry my lady but I think this baby has other plans.” Natsu looked at Karura so she knew what she was implying. 

“Oh gosh!” Karura finally understood. “We need to get you to the hospital. I’ll call my shinobi.” Karura went off to find help. 

Natsu looked up at the sky.

“Damn you, Kai.” She grinned. 


	4. Introducing the Main Character

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Labor really is a tricky thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter. This is probably my best chapter so far.

Karura stayed by Natsu’s side the whole way to the hospital. The two shinobi, that Karura called, made sure to be careful with the pregnant woman in their arms. 

“Breathe in. Breathe out. I got you Natsu.” Karura’s voice was confident but inside she was nervous. 

Lady Karura has never been one to be the leader but when it came to people she cared about it, she tended to step out of her comfort zone. She became more vocal. 

“Okay, I see the hospital coming up. I’m going to run the rest of the way to inform them. I expect you two to protect her.” The two shinobi nodded at Karura. 

Karura ran through the door and collided with the nurse at the front receptionist table. This caught the nurse off guard. 

“Oh my, Lady Karura, is something wrong. Where are your guards?” The nurse sounded confused. 

“Nevermind, I have a very pregnant woman coming who is in obvious labor. She is alone and needs help as her husband just died protecting my husband, so if you don’t give her first-class care, I swear to whoever is up there that you will regret it.” Karura knew she probably sounded rude but the events of the day had finally caught up to her. She never was good at handling stress. 

The nurse nodded then yelled for a doctor and more nurses to follow her. Karura let out a nervous breath. She saw Natsu lifted onto a stretcher. Natsu was pale and her face showed she was in pain. The doctor motioned for the nurses to bring Natsu into the nearest room. 

“Wait!” Natsu threw out her arms to stop the people from going any further. Her eyes were scanning the room, looking for Lady Karura. 

“Lady Karura, I would feel comfortable if you were with me in the room. I don’t have anybody left, please.” Natsu was scared. 

Karura took her hand. “I would be honored.”

The labor lasted 12 hours. Karura had been a little traumatized to see what Natsu had to go through but she held onto Natsu’s hand the whole time. Natsu was thankful to have Karura there. 

“Congratulations Natsu! You gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.”The nurse handed the baby over to the expecting mother. 

Karura and Natsu smiled at seeing the baby. The baby had brown hair like Kai but it was straight like Natsu’s hair. The baby was perfectly both Kai and Natsu. 

“Hi, I’m your mommy.”Natsu gently touched the baby’s cheek.  _ Kai could you see this, we actually made a pretty baby.  _

“What’s her name, Natsu?” Karura watched the baby and she couldn’t help to think about having some kids of her own. 

“Her name is Hana Uzumaki Inuzuka,” Natsu remembered how much Kai liked that name. 

Hana was born on Sept 15. A day after her dad died. A newborn baby was supposed to be a happy time but Natsu was busy planning Kai’s funeral. It was a hard time. Kai was to be buried next to his mother and Natsu’s mother. All the flowers and arrangements had been generously donated from the village. The whole village had turned out to the funeral. Natsu held onto a sleeping Hana as she stood in the front of the procession. The Kazekage and Karura were there to pay their respects, Natsu bowed to them. Every person knew about how powerful Kai was but they also knew how great he was as a person. Kai went out of his way to help everybody. Natsu couldn’t help but cry as the casket reached his final resting spot. 

After the lowering of the casket, people paid their last respects to Kai. Natsu eventually was the last person there. She reached into her purse and pulled out a container filled with ashes. Kai had been specific that he wanted Taiki’s ashes to be sprinkled on top of his grave. 

As Natsu sprinkled the dog’s ashes, Hana started to wake up. The baby had opened her eyes to stare at her mother. Natsu finished and looked at her baby. 

“This is your father Hana. Your father was a badass ninja who gave it his all. I want you to know that he wanted to be here but unfortunately, life has other plans.” Natsu saw the baby try to eat her own hand. “Of course, you probably won’t understand this but hopefully in the future, you will.” Natsu chuckled at Hana’s antics. 

“Now what do you want?” Natu turned to see an Anbu black op behind her. 

“Your skills are still fresh I see.” The black-ops voice was muffled. 

“Whatever, answer my question, what do you want?” Natsu’s voice was intimidating. Hana was looking wide-eyed between her mother and the black op. 

“The Kazekage wishes to see you.” With that said, the black op left. 

Natsu walked the path to the Kazekage tower. She made sure to control her emotions and calm Hana. The baby could feel her mother’s emotions and have become antsy. Natsu didn’t like Rasa. He could be cruel at times so this so-called meeting sent an alarm off in Natsu’s mind. Natsu reached Rasa’s office lost in her thoughts. 

“Enter.” Rasa had already sensed her it seemed. And here Natsu thought she was keeping track of her chakra. 

Natsu entered and was relieved to see Karura there. Karura was a big help with Hana these past few days. 

“Natsu, come in, please sit.” Rasa motioned to a chair in front of his desk. 

Natsu walked to the chair. She perfectly masked her features just like she was taught being a shinobi was second nature to her. Hana slept soundly in her arms. 

“Lord Kazekage, I just wanted to thank you for attending Kai’s funeral.” Natsu bowed her head in respect.

“Kai was a wonderful shinobi who gave his life to protect me. It was my honor.” Rasa motioned for Natsu to pick her head up. 

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that. As I remember, Kai and you graduated in the same class. You both were given high marks. Two of my best shinobi.” Rasa had walked to the window. Natsu sat silently, she knew that Rasa wasn’t finished yet. 

“I know that you have just lost your husband and have a new baby to take care of but I am offering you a job.” Rasa took a moment to look at his wife, who gave a tiny nod. 

“As you know, Karura and I have been married for two years. We have been trying for a child. We want to start our own family. This last assassination attempt has made me think about Karura’s safety. We both have talked about it and Karura feels like she would be comfortable if you would be her personal bodyguard.” Karura gave a small smile to Natsu. Rasa continued. 

“We know that you just had your baby but that is where this next part comes in. On this job, you would be able to spend all the time with your child as Karura doesn’t really go anywhere.” Natsu thought this through. She did need to find a job to support Hana and her. 

“In addition, as our children are born they are also going to need a bodyguard. Your baby has the DNA of two strong shinobi inside of her. I am prepared to make that baby a jonin now so when she grows up after getting trained by you, Hana will become a top bodyguard to any children you have. I will also keep your family name a secret when I send word to Konoha. I know it is important to you that nobody finds out you are here. I don’t think Lord Third will take too kindly to finding out that an Uzumaki and Inuzuka had a baby. Correction a powerful Uzumaki and Inuzuka had a baby. ” Rasa finished by sitting back down. “Of course, this is all up to you.” 

Natsu looked down at Hana. She knew Hana would become a shinobi one day but a jonin at only 2 weeks old. She did like how Rasa would keep the last names secret. Natsu didn’t want Konoha to know about them. This plan seemed solid. Natsu knew she needed a job and like she said being a shinobi was second nature to her. Natsu didn’t trust Rasa but she trusted Karura. She knew Karura wouldn’t lie to her. Also, Natsu knew Rasa wouldn’t make a decision like this without Karura’s input. Rasa had a weak spot for Karura. 

Natsu took one last look at her daughter then looked at the Kazekage. 

“You have a deal.”


	5. A Message to the Leaf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rasa calls on a favor. Who is Tsunade talking about? What is Lord Third hiding?

Rasa gave Natsu a smile. 

“Well, I will start the induction process for Hana to be a jonin. I will inform you of the next course of action once the process is finished.” With that Rasa motioned his hand for Natsu to leave. 

Natsu stood up and bowed to both Karura and Rasa. Her mind was filled with too much. Natsu left the room quickly. 

The office remained quiet for a second. Rasa and Karura were both looking at each other. They did that a lot. Silent communication is what the couple was known for. Their marriage wasn’t a traditional one. They both were put together for political reasons but that’s not what Rasa or Karura thought. You see, Rasa knew Karura since they were children. Karura came from a rich family so they would mingle with each other at events. They both wrote to each other often and Rasa used to send presents to Karura. 

People were surprised that the soft-spoken Karura would want to marry somebody as cold as Rasa but Karura knew a different side. Sure he could be an ass sometimes but Rasa treated Karura with respect and love. 

Karura decided to be the one to break the ice. 

“Well, that went better than expected.” Karura smiled at Rasa. 

“I don’t think she had much choice but I am glad we were able to get another strong shinobi back. Natsu is an Uzumaki. She has a large amount of chakra and is skilled in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Even though I heard her ninjutsu isn’t as powerful as Kai’s was, nevertheless, Natsu went on 50 S rank missions before she became a teacher. All of them completed with no consequences. The rest of her missions were all accomplishments too. A valuable asset to have against the Leaf Village.” Rasa looked up from the paper he was reading to look at his wife. 

Karura made a face.

“You know I don’t like it when you talk like that. Remember Natsu is a friend to me and she is a mother. Rasa. She is a person. I want to make sure nothing happens to her or Hana. So don’t talk about her like she’s just another shinobi.” Karura’s voice had taken on a scolding tone. 

Karura is the only one to ever dare talk to Rasa like that. 

“Darling, I know. That is why I added the part about Hana becoming a shinobi. This way she doesn’t have to leave her daughter. I already guessed Hana would become a ninja when she is older, that is just how our world works so I just offered to fast track the process. Besides an Uzumaki and Inuzuka child is bound to become a powerful ninja, so this way any children we have are protected against anything.” Rasa had stood up to sit next to his wife. 

He reached to take a hand which was balled up in a fist. Rasa laced his fingers with Karura’s to make her relax. Karura gave a huff. 

“I know. We talked about this but I just don’t like when you talk like that.” Karura looked at Rasa. 

“I’ll make sure not to do it again,” Karura smiled at Rasa, he continued, "I do need to write that letter to the Hokage so sadly my darling we must part.”

“Do you think the Hokage will allow it?” Karura had stood up as to leave but her hand was still laced with Rasa’s. 

“Now don’t worry about that I will handle it.” Rasa had lifted their joined hands to give a kiss to Karura’s knuckles. 

“If you say so,” Karura bent to give a kiss to Rasa’s forehead. Her hand grazed the back of Rasa’s head. 

“Don’t work yourself hard and remember a couple of months ago that Konoha started to transition to a new Hokage. His name is Minato Namikaze. He’s clanless but from what I hear married to an Uzumaki. That might cause problems.” Karura walked away from her husband towards the door as she said this. 

“Thank you for reminding me.” Rasa gave a soft smile to his wife before she left. 

In truth, Rasa had forgotten that last information. Lord Third was ready to give up the hat but he skipped over his students to a young man. It had caused such a scandal. Minato Namikaze was clanless but this was a shinobi of extreme strength. Villages knew him as the yellow flash. In addition, Minato was married to an Uzumaki. He had to find a way to get around this as Natsu wanted her identity hidden. 

Rasa went to walk back to his desk. Minato was new. He probably was a rule follower too. Somebody who doesn’t know what happens in private when it comes to politics. Rasa gritted his teeth. He wanted this process done fast so maybe he needed to go through Hiruzen instead. 

Rasa knew this was the best course of action. He reached for a pen. 

_ Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,  _

_ I have important business to discuss. I need to call on a debt. I have a child in my village that I need to be made jonin immediately. This is for private reasons and I need you to persuade the other kages to fast track the process. Remember I have kept your secret.  _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ Kazekage _

  
  


Rasa finished and called for a shinobi to take this message to Sarutobi. 10-year-old Baki entered his office. 

“Lord Kazekage.” Baki bowed. 

“I need you to take a message directly to the Hokage, Lord Third. I have attached a paper stating your reasons for entering Konoha. You should not have any problems getting in. I do not need a message back so leave once the Hokage reads it. If you fail, then I will be forced to punish you. Do you understand?” Rasa leveled an intimidating look with the chunin. 

“Yes Lord Kazekage,” Baki bowed and took the message. 

Rasa watched as the ninja left. Now all he had to do was play the waiting game. 

* * *

Baki ran through the night. Even though he was only 10, Baki was one of the best ninjas in Suna. It took him two days until he saw the gate of the leaf village. From his view, Baki saw two leaf ninjas positioned at the entrance. Both ninjas seemed to be younger than Baki, only genins. One was lazily twirling what looked to be a toothpick while the other was doing pushups with an ugly green spandex suit on. 

Leaf ninjas are weird. 

Both boys perked up as Baki came into view. 

“State your business.” The toothpick guy managed to sound at least a little intimidating. 

“I am here to deliver a message directly to the Hokage.” Baki gave the toothpick guy the slip. 

Both boys huddled together, looking for any imperfections. After a minute the toothpick guy looked back at Baki. 

“Seems legit but I am going to have to escort you to the Sarutobi household myself.” At this, the green spandex guy let out a whine. 

“Genma, why do you get to go?” So the toothpick guy has a name. 

Genma looked at the green spandex kid. 

“Because you got to do it last time and how many times do I have to tell you not to say my name in front of a ninja from another village,” Genma whispered angrily at the green spandex kid. 

“Ok fine, but I just want to say that my youthful passion is longing to do something. It sucks to just sit here so you owe me a spar later.” The kid crossed his arms and looked away from Baki and Genma.

Genma had already started walking away with a hand waved dismissively.

“Whatever you say Gai.” Genma looked behind to make sure Baki was following him. 

“We’re going to take the roofs if that is ok with you.” Genma was looking at Baki. 

Baki just bowed his head in acknowledgment. 

The Leaf Village has always been livelier than Suna. There were more laughter and fun. That was probably why their genin were naive. Suna children did not get that luxury. 

“We’re at the Sarutobi household. Let me talk to the guards.” Genma still sounded like he wanted to be doing something else. 

After talking to the guards, Genma and Baki were being walked through the hallways. They were told to wait outside Lord Third’s office as he is in a meeting. Baki stood upright, his stoic face staring forward. Genma took this chance to sag against the wall, his head tilted upward, that same toothpick in his mouth. 

They can hear voices from inside. Lord Third was having a conversation with a woman. Their voices were getting higher in pitch. 

“I’m telling you he needs help. He is hurting inside and I’m worried.” The woman sounded angry but desperate. 

“Tsunade, I don’t know what you are talking about. He seems to be fine to me.” Lord Third sounded annoyed but the woman, Tsunade, wasn’t giving up. 

“I am tired of you ignoring this issue! I swear old man what are you hiding.” Tsunade sounded very angry and intimidating. 

Baki thought that maybe some Leaf Village shinobi were formidable. 

“Tsunade, this is not someplace to whine like a spoiled child. Now I need you to leave, there is somebody waiting outside.” Lord Third gave no room for argument. 

Tsunade stormed out of the room. Her blonde ponytail swung out behind her, Baki could hear her muttering about stupid old people. 

“You may enter.” Lord Third’s voice sounded strained. 

Genma waved his hand to the door. 

“Go on ahead. I’ll wait here.” Genma went back to his original position.

Baki entered the room. Lord Third was wearing a simple white robe, writing a letter at his desk. 

Baki bowed. 

“Lord Third a private message from Lord Kazekage.” Baki handed the scroll over. 

Lord Third grabbed the scroll. Baki watched his face scan the scroll in its entirety. Like a perfect shinobi, he gave no emotion to what he was reading. 

Lord Third nodded to Baki, who bowed and then left the room. The Hokage leaned back in his chair, his hands folded in front of him. 

“I’ll admit, I’m curious Rasa but if it's a favor you are calling upon...” Lord Third went right away on working on letters to the other Kages. 

* * *

The run back to the gate was quick. Baki thought about what the message included but thought better than to let his imagination wander. Shinobi did not ask why they just did. 

When they made it to the gate, Baki heard the green spandex kid, Gai, emerge from the side of the woods. 

Genma scoffed. 

“And what were you doing Gai, shirking your duties to spend time with your boyfriend?” Genma’s tone was teasing. 

“No, I wasn’t! I swear! I-I was just training.” Gai’s face turned red as a tomato. 

“You know, you're terrible at lying. So what did your boyfriend have to say?” Genma was now smirking at Gai.

“I told you he is not my boyfriend.” Gai looked like he wanted to cry from embarrassment. 

The last thing Baki heard was a kunai knife almost hit Genma in the shoulder.

“Kakashi, you bastard!” Genma yelled at the forest trees.

Okay, maybe he was right, Leaf Village ninjas were weird. 

The trek back to Suna was quick. Baki felt happy to complete another mission. He was another step closer to becoming a jonin. Three days later Baki entered Rasa’s office. 

“I expect everything went well.” Rasa sat at his desk. 

“Yes, Lord Kazekage.” Baki bowed. 

“Good, I’m proud of you Baki.” Rasa waved his hand for Baki to leave. 

“Now we wait.” Rasa turned in his chair to look out the window. 

Two weeks later, Rasa had his confirmation to make the baby a jonin. 

“Now the work begins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the Kakagai moment, Gai is embarrassed because Genma is teasing. They are all supposed to be eight years old and even though he probably likes Kakashi he doesn't realize it yet.


	6. The First Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Year in Hana's Life.

_ Congratulations are in order, Natsu, your daughter has been promoted to jonin as promised. In the records, it will say promoted at two weeks but official processed at 5 weeks old. It will be some time until we see her actually rise to her position. As to you, Natsu, Lady Karura, and I have talked and decided that you will have the first three years to spend alone with your daughter. You will use this time to bond and teach her how to be a proper shinobi. Of course, you are still required to wear the shinobi uniform and be prepared to go on any missions when your skills are needed. Included in this package are the regulation Suna jonin headband and the Suna jonin jacket.  _

_ -Kazekage  _

Natsu read the message a second time. She couldn’t believe that this plan worked out. A 5-week old jonin, did the Kages even think this through. They probably had no choice. Natsu knew better, it was probably some sort of favor being granted. Politics was a messy business. 

Three weeks ago, Natsu sat in the Kazekage’s office and agreed to become a shinobi again. She also solidified her daughter’s future. Natsu looked over at her daughter who was playing on the floor trying to hit Baki in the face. 

Natsu remembered when Baki was only 5 years old and a genin. Now he was 10 years old and a chunin, time sure does fly. 

Hana tried again to reach Baki’s face to pull on it but the boy pulled away fast. Natsu could tell the boy was laughing to himself, his whole posture was relaxed. This was different from the usual emotionless Baki she's been seeing around the village. 

Natsu brought her attention back to the message in her hands. She put it on the table and reached for the headband. The metal was solid and less flimsy than the genin headband. It was just like the one Natsu had in her closet. The flak jacket was a standard one. It was different from the Leaf one. It was stretchier so as to not constrict in the warm heat of Suna but also had an insulated lining that will keep you warm on the cold nights in the desert. It will be a while until Hana could wear either of them. 

“I could feel her chakra. It is immense for such a little body.” Baki had put Hana to lay down on the mat. 

“I know. I felt it the moment I held her in my arms. It seems she has inherited the Uzumaki trait.” Natsu smiled at her daughter.

“As is expected from two prodigys' daughter. I could even see she is progressing faster than an average child.” Baki crawled closer to Hana. 

“Yes, she has Kai’s active energy. She is also very observant for a baby. I think Hana is trying to read the environment she’s in.” Natsu looked at a picture of Kai and her on the bookshelves. 

“Like a shinobi,” Baki said. 

Natsu repeated, “Like a shinobi.” 

Baki took this moment to give Hana a stuffed toad. Hana gratefully grabbed it, she then tried to squeeze it to death. 

“Baki, I need your help with something.” Natsu looked into Baki’s eyes. 

“Anything Sensei,” Baki replied. 

“As you might or might not know, I am to be reinstated as a shinobi but Hana was also made a shinobi. Hana was made a join, Baki.” Natsu could tell that Baki knew nothing about this. 

“Wait, Hana is a jonin. A five-week-old jonin.” Baki looked at Hana in surprise. 

A baby that could barely crawl. 

“Yes, Lord Kazage believes that Hana will be a powerful shinobi one day. He wishes for her to become his future children’s bodyguard. I do believe she will be formidable but there is a long way to go until she can get there. That is why I need your help.” Natsu stopped to let the boy process everything she was saying to him.

“Why me?” Baki couldn’t believe he could be of any help. 

“As you know, I am a master of genjutsu and taijutsu. My target skills are excellent and I could teach her strategy but my ninjutsu and kenjutsu are average. My intimidation skills and intelligence are again average. That is where you come in Baki, I want you to teach Hana what I can’t. I want you to be a teacher but also a Big Brother to her. Will you do it Baki?” Natsu smiled at Baki. 

Baki took a look at his old Sensei. She seemed genuine about it then he looked at Hana. The baby was putting the toy frog in her mouth and looking at him with wide eyes. Baki thought that she was so small but even Baki could tell from her chakra that the baby was bound to be an exceptional shinobi. 

It’s been a long time since Baki had people to call family. Baki was an orphan, his parents died when he was very young. In addition, he could already feel himself becoming protective of Hana. 

“I’ll do it.” Baki smiled back at Natsu, “thank you for believing in me Sensei.” 

“I know you’ll do great Baki. You are my student after all.” Natsu stood up from her seat. She made her way over to Hana. Natsu kneeled down to pick up the baby then she made herself comfortable on the floor next to Baki. 

“What have you taught her so far?” Baki wanted to know what his Sensei started with.

“Well the easiest thing I started with is the name of certain objects like the Kunai Knife or the Shuriken. I want her to get used to how the words sound and as she hears them more then she’ll realize what they are when she is older.” Natsu looked at Hana.

This was going to be a hard task to undertake.

“Any prodigy has to start somewhere.” Baki stood up so he could leave.

Natsu was lucky that she had three years.

* * *

_**March** _

Natsu opened the door. The pain in her arms was terrible but nothing she couldn’t handle. 

Natsu had been putting herself through long training sessions so she could get back in shape. She found that she could put somebody in a genjutsu faster than before but her taijutsu needed training. 

Luckily, Baki has been a tremendous help. He would watch Hana when he had time off. 

Speaking of which, Hana entered the house to see Baki and Hana sitting on the floor. The baby’s hair was thicker. It was just as brown as Kai’s was, also Natsu noticed that Hana had teeth coming in. It was pretty early for that but maybe that was just a side effect of the Inuzuka bloodline. 

Natsu flared her chakra as a way of greeting. She had decided to start testing if the baby could recognize chakra signatures and from the looks of it, she could. Hana recognized Baki and Natsu from their chakra signature alone. 

Baki has tested how far it took her to notice it one day when he was three houses down. 

Hana recognized it right away.

“Ma.” Hana looked up at Natsu. 

“Hello, my darling.” Natsu sat down next to Hana. “What are you reading to her Baki?”

“Just showing her the different villages in the area.” Baki closed the book and continued. 

“How was training?”

“Good, I was able to train with another shinobi for a while. My genjutsu is fast than before, it takes me a whole three seconds for me to put them under. My taijutsu on the other hand is sloppy. My leaf hurricane is weak but hand-to-hand combat is average. I need to get faster.” Natsu took off the jonin jacket and placed it on the floor. 

“Well, today I brought all my weapons and showed them to Hana. For some reason, she had an affinity for the sword. She wouldn’t stop touching it.” Baki looked down affectionately at the baby.

“She’s growing fast. Yesterday, I went into her room and found a stuffed animal that looked like he had its stuffing squeezed out of her.” Natsu grabbed Hana and put the baby on her lap.

“Now who's ready for storytime, I got a good one today.” Natsu smiled at Hana.

“Stor tim!” Hana was close to saying actual words soon.

Natsu saw Baki visibly perk up, he wouldn’t admit it out loud but storytime was interesting.

“Now I’m going to tell you a story about one time Kai saved my butt.” Natsu smiled fondly at the picture of Kai on the mantelpiece.

_ We were only 13 so just promoted chunin. I was sent out on a solo mission that ended bad but I still achieved what I needed to do and was making my way back to Suna with a broken rib.  _

_ Apparently, Kai was sent out to find me because I was taking too long, eventually, he found me at a riverbank just two days from Suna. _

_ “Now Natsu what happened here?” Kai surprised me. _

_ “What are you doing here?” I was just a tiny bit annoyed but that changed when I felt my wound throbbing. _

_ “I leave you for one second and you already got yourself hurt.” Kai bent down to pick Natsu up.  _

_ “The mission was finished but I got jumped by some Mist ninjas. It was three against one but I was able to take out all three but I got punched in the ribs in the process.” I explained to Kai so he knew the extent of the wound. _

_ “That’s my girl,” Kai smiled at me, “ but you are taking too long so I came to get you.”  _

_ “Now let’s get you back before” Kai stopped talking. _

_ We felt three chakra signatures move along the river bank. They had to be young since they weren’t good at hiding.  _

_ “Hmm, it looks like we have company.” Kai smiled to himself. He always did like a good fight. _

_ The three signatures stopped abruptly behind a bush. Apparently, they just realized that Natsu and Kai were standing right there.  _

_ The three had to be genin if they were dumb enough to make that mistake.  _

_ “You might as well show yourself, you guys did a terrible job hiding,” Kai called out to the bush. _

_ Three boys came out of the bushes. One was on the chubby side, one had long blond hair, and the other had black spiky hair.  _

_ “Makes sense why the bad attempt at hiding you kids are just genin and from the leaf village.” Kai pointed out the obvious.  _

_ “Who are you calling kids! You're no older than us.” The blond one was annoyed.  _

_ “Listen, all I’m saying is that you guys did a terrible job hiding your chakra signatures. My partner and I knew you guys were coming a mile away. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to my village.” Kai was about to walk away when the black spiky-haired kid stopped him.  _

_ “Hey, what were you guys doing so close to the Leaf Village anyway.” It seemed the leader of the group was this kid.  _

_ Kai’s eyes started to look strained. I was getting annoyed too. My ribs were aching to be healed, we didn’t have time to argue with a bunch of kids.  _

_ Kai stalked closer to the boy, whose eyes visibly widened. The two others took a hesitant step forward, ready to come to their partner’s aid if need be.  _

_ “If you want to start a fight, I warn you it will not end well for you or your teammates. So I suggest you step away, now.” Kai was putting every ounce of strength not to do any damage to the kid.  _

_ “Shikaku, I think we should go. We shouldn’t have been this far anyway, Sakumo-sensei will be worried.” The chubby one piped up. _

_ “I suggest you listen to him.” Kai was waiting for Shikaku to get out of the way.  _

_ “Fine” The kid grumbled.  _

_ Kai smiled but I knew that smile. He was planning to do something anyway.  _

_ In a flash, Kai ran to the kid’s side, it startled the kid that he didn’t even have a chance to pull out a knife or jutsu. His teammates too were surprised.  _

_ “Word of advice for the future don’t pick a fight that you know you can’t win.” Kai’s voice was low.  _

_ All Shikaku could do was nod.  _

_ “Come on Kai, let’s go before I die here.” I had finally had enough of this.  _

_ “Oh sorry.” Kai had turned back to his soft side.  _

Natsu finished the story with a fond smile. 

“Now what was the point of that story?” Natsu looked at Hana and Baki. 

All Hana did was speak some sort of gibberish. 

Baki was thinking then said something.

“Leaf Village Ninjas are stupid.” 

Natsu laughed. 

“No not that. Now both of you listen up, Kai and I were raised with the belief that shinobis’ lives belonged to the village, that is why they fight but after years of doing this Kai and I realized that is wrong. Shinobi are people, not pawns. It was okay to have emotional ties because that’s what makes you human. That is why my ninja way isn’t to live and die for the village. It’s to live and die for the people I love. It’s okay to love others because in the end none of that other stuff will matter. It won’t matter if you were a good shinobi. You don’t want to die with any regrets like the regret of not loving the people you hold most dear. In the story, Kai wasn’t getting mad because the boys were stupid. He was mad because all he wanted to do was get me to safety. Do you understand, Baki?” Natsu looked at the young boy. 

Baki admitted to himself that lately he didn’t understand why he became a ninja but after hearing Natsu talk he came to a realization. He would do anything to protect Natsu and Hana. His sensei became like a mother to him. Hana who he saw as a little sister. 

“I think I do.” Baki looked at Natsu. 

“And that’s what I want Hana to learn.” Natsu looked down at her daughter. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure of it.” Baki wouldn’t let Sensei down. 

* * *

_**July** _

Today was one of those rare days that Natsu didn’t have to train. She mostly stayed home with Hana on these days. 

Hana had grown fast. The baby was taller. Her two bottom and top teeth have started to show. 

Natsu could tell that Hana was probably going to have fangs as Kai did.  Hana also had taken up walking or a version of walking. Natsu would watch as Hana tried to pull herself up but then fail to stay upright. 

Natsu at the moment was reading to Hana about the lineage of the Kazekage family when Hana looked towards the door. 

“Big Brother,” Hana giggled. 

“I must be getting old if you were able to pick that up before me.” Natsu picked up her daughter and deposited Hana on her lap. 

Baki entered the house 10 seconds later. 

“Sensei” Baki bowed. 

Then he smiled. 

“Hana.” 

Hana reached her arms out towards Baki who gladly walked forward to grab her.  Baki had just celebrated his 11th birthday at the beginning of July. He was another year older and taller. 

“How was she today?” Baki asked Natsu. 

“Well, she wants to walk and with anything, she won’t stop until she gets it.” Natsu put the book away. 

“That’s good. A shinobi is always training to get stronger.” Baki looked down at Hana who was touching his summer uniform. 

“Yes, I do think I won’t have any trouble getting her to train ---” Just then Natsu stopped. 

She could feel a presence at her front door. 

“Baki, stay with Hana.” Natsu got up to walk towards the door. 

“May I help you.” Natsu opened the door to find an ANBU black op standing outside. 

“Important mission request from the Kazekage.” The black op handed Natsu the scroll. 

It was an S Rank mission. Apparently, Karura was sick and needed a certain flower for her medicine. A flower found by a river by Konoha. 

“I’ll be right on it.” Natsu closed the door on the black op. 

“Baki I’m going to need you to stay with Hana. This is an important mission request I can’t ignore. It might be a day until I get back.” Natsu said all of this while grabbing her headband and jacket to put on. 

“Don’t worry. I got her.” Baki gave Natsu a curt nod. 

Natsu reached down to kiss Hana. 

“Be good for Big Brother.” Natsu saw Hana give a little nod. 

Natsu could tell that Hana was reading the situation. There was no doubt about it, she was growing fast. 

Natsu gave one long look before running out the door.  Natsu always liked to run. She was faster than Kai but he was always the better taijutsu user. 

This mission was a serious one. Rasa would crumble without his wife. With that in mind Natsu pushed herself harder, Karura needed this medicine. 

Seven hours later, Natsu was hot and sweaty but she had finally made it to the river. In her sights was the flower, it was purple with a long stem. 

Natsu reached down to grab it. 

While she was harvesting it, Natsu felt a chakra signature. The person was behind her. Natsu quickly secured the flower. She could feel the person get ready for a sneak attack. 

Natsu prepared herself. 

“Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!” A young voice screamed out. 

Natsu jumped upward. She winged her body so h er back was to the fire. Her back felt warm but Natsu flipped high so she wouldn't get burned. 

Natsu landed untouched from the flames. 

“You better show yourself. I already know where you are so come out or I drag you out.” Natsu was pissed.  Her chakra still stood tightly in its cage. 

A young boy with large goggles came out. A genin no more than 10 years old. 

“Are you alone?” Natsu was tired and annoyed. This kid obviously was somebody who makes rash decisions. 

Two more kids, one with long grey hair the other was a girl with purple lines on her face. 

At least these two kids knew to hide their chakra, Natsu noted. 

“Which one is the leader?” Natsu asked. 

“I am.” The grey-haired boy answered. 

Natsu walked towards the boy. He was a chunin by the looks of the jacket he wore. A very young chunin. 

“Can I ask why an ally of the Leaf was surprise attacked right now?” Natsu was speaking to the chunin. 

“I was trying to get him to stop but he wouldn’t listen.” The boy was obviously frustrated. 

Natsu sighed, she was wasting time arguing with them. They were just kids. 

“Listen, as a jounin of the sand, I have words of advice.” Natsu turned towards glasses boy. 

“You listen to your squad leader. You can jeopardize your whole life and the life’s of your teammates by acting rash.” The boy nodded. 

Natsu walked back towards the leader. 

“If you see your teammate make a rash decision, you have to go out there and stop him. There is nothing more important than protecting those close to you.” The chunin seemed to be surprised to hear this from a jonin.

“Now excuse me, I need to get back to my village.” 

The girl whispered as Natsu left, "Doesn't she look familiar?"

The trek back lasted her a day. 

After depositing the flower at the hospital, Natsu made her way back home. 

* * *

The next month before Hana’s birthday flew by fast. Hana was already walking which turned into trouble for both Baki and Natsu. 

Hana would race around them, both skilled ninjas being unable to catch her. 

“Well this is good especially when she starts physical training.” Baki took a break from chasing Hana. 

“Yes but.. It doesn’t bode well for us now.” Natsu continued trying to get Hana into her pajamas.

Hana’s teeth was another problem. It was obvious that she was to inherit the Inuzuka fangs. 

“Ma-ma, it hurts.” Hana pointed to her mouth. 

“Oh, I know my darling but unfortunately there is nothing I could do.” Natsu grabbed her daughter. 

“But you know your daddy had fangs just like yours.” Natsu pointed to a picture of Kai.

“Really.” Hana looked at the picture of her dad. 

“Yes, he did so in a couple of months you’ll look just like him.” Natsu tickled Hana. 

At the end of August, Natsu celebrated her 25th birthday. The first birthday without Kai.  It was different. Natsu woke up feeling empty but she couldn’t dwell on it. She didn’t want to. 

She got out of bed to start breakfast for Hana. As she walked into the kitchen, Baki and Hana jumped out from under the table. 

“Surprise Sensei!”

“Surprise Mama!”

Baki had made breakfast for Natsu. Hana had made a banner for her Mom. It put her mind at ease about her birthday. Natsu remembered that she still had a family at her side. Like Kai told her, she needed to live on. 

After breakfast, Baki told her that he would watch Hana for her while she trained. Baki had two hours before he needed to head out anyways. 

This was good because Natsu had a new technique to try out. A forbidden taijutsu technique she heard about. 

The 8 inner gates. 

* * *

During September, Hana’s training had progressed. She knew the names of all the villages and the Kages. She could hold a kunai knife and shuriken without cutting herself. The only thing is that Hana had found some way to hide her chakra. It scared Baki and Natsu at first but they were able to figure it out after the third time it happened.

The day before Hana’s birthday was the one-year anniversary of Kai’s death. Natsu, Baki, and Hana made their way to the gravesite. 

Baki and Natsu were sitting on a picnic cover while Hana played around the area. 

“Sensei, do you miss him?” Baki was timid as he asked her. 

“Yes, every day but there is no use dwelling on it. I know Kai wouldn’t have liked it and besides I have to watch Hana and you.” Natsu smiled at Baki. 

“What do you think she's going to be like when she’s older?” Baki looked at Hana playing with the sand. 

“I hope in the years to come that she will learn how to be a formidable shinobi that will use her skills to protect the people most precious.” Natsu looked into the sky. 

Something told her it was only going to get busier from here on out. 

  
  
  
  



	7. Timeskip 4 years later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things have changed not only in Suna but also in Konoha.

_ URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM KONOHA: _

_ HIRUZEN SARUTOBI AND DANZO SHIMURA HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND THROWN INTO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT ON CHARGES OF HOMICIDE OF HIASHI HYUGA AND FUGAKU UCHIHA. MINATO NAMIKAZE WILL BE INDUCTED AS THE THIRD HOKAGE IMMEDIATELY, THE OLD COUNCIL IS TO BE THROWN OUT.  _

Rasa held onto the message he received yesterday. It looks like Sarutobi got caught but to take out two clan heads in the process? That’s just being careless. 

He put the announcement back on his desk. 

“Somebody get me a messenger!” Rasa screamed out to the ninjas outside. 

He intended to meet this new Hokage. 

* * *

April 

“Concentrate Hana.” 

Natsu was staring at her daughter in the middle of the training field. The girl was 4 feet tall, her hair pulled into a ponytail, the Suna headband sat on her forehead. 

The girl was breathing heavily but she needed to get this training perfected. 

“Concentrate on the area around you. Open your ears.”

Hana had her eyes closed. The kunai knife in her hands was steady. 

“On my count. 1...2...3”

On the last number, Hana threw her knife straight at the tree 25 feet behind them. 

Baki walked into view, a grin on his face. 

“What gave me away?” 

Hana opened her eyes and smiled. Jumping up and down, happy she finally mastered this. 

“You gave a tiny huff when Mom said 3.” Hana finally said after her jumping. 

For the past week, Hana had been struggling to focus her hearing. Being an Inuzuka, her hearing was like a dog. She could hear an enemy from a mile away. 

The three ninjas walked towards the center. 

“Nice job honey.” Natsu ruffled Hana’s hair. 

“Thanks, Mom.” Hana smiled. 

The past 4 years were full of adventure just like Natsu predicted. Baki was made a jonin at 13 years old. Now at 15, the Kazekage had taken a liking to him. Baki was sent out on more S-ranked missions than before but he made time to train Hana. At 3 years olds, Hana started accompanying Natsu to look over Lady Karura just like was promised all those years ago. 

The Inuzuka bloodline gave her exceptional hearing and smell. The Uzumaki bloodline gave her an excess amount of chakra and endurance. Because of this, Hana’s training had started to evolve faster.

Hana was exceptional at handling a shuriken and kunai knife. Her genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kenjutsu still needed work but Hana was still 5. She had time to grow. 

“So what do you think, Baki? Think I can finally take you in a fight.” Hana put up her hands. 

“3 hours of training and you're still going.” Baki gently pushed Hana in a teasing way. 

All of a sudden, Hana stopped moving and turned to look behind Natsu. 

Natsu felt it a second later. An ANBU Black op was standing behind them. 

He held out a message to Natsu. She took it and read it over then she nodded to the ANBU. 

After the shinobi left, Natsu turned to the other two. 

“It looks like the Kazekage wants all of us in his office. There are some things he needs to discuss with us.” 

Both Hana and Baki nodded. They retrieved their things and ran fast for the Kazekage tower. 

\---

Hana has been to the Kazekage’s office many times. Most of the time was for simple reports on how Rasa’s children were doing. Temari was only 1 year old and about to be 2 years old in August. Her blond hair is identical to Lady Karura but Temari’s face shape was all Rasa's. Kankuro was only two months old. Rasa was beyond ecstatic to have his first boy. Kankuro didn’t do much but he lit up a room when he smiled. Of course, Lady Karura adored her children. Never liked to leave them with anybody, only trusting Hana and Natsu to take care of them.

Hana loved Kankuro and Temari more than anything. It was like having a little brother and sister. 

Walking into the office behind Baki, Hana could see Lord Rasa sitting at his desk. A hand under his chin. 

The three ninjas bowed. 

“I have important business to discuss with all three of you. It seems that Hiruzen Sarutobi has been arrested on murder charges.” 

Natsu spoke up. 

“Murder Charges?” 

“Yes, murder charges. He and his assistant killed two clan heads. An Uchiha and Hyuga and now the village is scrambling to stop civil unrest.” Rasa stopped talking to gouge the ninja's reactions. 

Hana was neutral. She only ever stayed with Karura and the kids so it was obvious she would know nothing about Konoha. 

Baki was obviously disturbed but not as reactive as Natsu was. 

Natsu lived in Konoha for a couple of years. She would know that this was a serious issue. 

Rasa continued. 

“They already inducted Minato as the new Hokage. They got rid of the old council and replaced them with the clan heads from the village. And finally, they are getting rid of Sarutobi’s name and image from everywhere like he never existed in the first place.” Rasa stood up from his seat and went to stand in front of the ninjas. 

“That is why I have a personal mission request for all of you. I want to go to Konoha and see the damage for myself. In addition, I want to see the new Hokage and his wife. Only that might be a problem for us” Rasa turned to look out the window. 

“This mission might jeopardize your and Hana’s identity, Natsu.”

Hana looked at her mother. She remembered her mother explaining to her that their family names were to be kept a secret. It was to keep them safe. Only her mom wouldn’t explain anything further. 

“My Lord, I don’t think my cousin would remember me. It’s been a long time since we have talked to each other but I admit I am worried.”

Natsu looked at her daughter. She was worried about their true identity coming out, especially if they met anybody from the Inuzuka clan. The Inuzuka clan was still alive in Konoha. They would tell Hana’s one of their own. 

“Lord Kazekage, I have a plan. I ask to be put in the ANBU ranks, this way I could hide my identity. In addition, Hana will accompany your children as your niece, not a ninja guard. This would work because Hana looks more like Kai than me. As long as we don’t pass by the Inuzuka compound we should be fine.” 

Rasa thought this over. It would work if Natsu did hide behind the ANBU mask and Hana would pass as his niece. 

“Very well then I assign all three of you to accompany us on a trip to Konoha next week. Natsu you will be my ANBU black op bodyguard. Hana, you will be the childrens’ guard but imitating my niece so no ninja uniform. Baki, you will come as my assistant, this will be good practice for the future. Remember this is an S rank mission, so this will require perfection. ”

The three ninjas bowed and left the room. There was a lot to prepare for in the coming week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have decided to change the story plot. Naruto will not be the main character so he will not handle the regular trauma but unfortunately, somebody else has to handle it. Also, I changed everybody's age.


	8. The Journey to Konoha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kazekage finally reaches the Leaf Village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: this story contains Orochimaru in it. I am sorry if you don’t like the character but I wanted to use the Legendary Sannin as a team in the plot because I love them as friends especially since they were younger. This is not the Original Naruto plot so if you don’t like the character find another story.

Late April

Minato couldn’t help feeling stressed out. He remembered when he first heard about this whole thing, it was a Wednesday in early February. Kushina had just made dinner. This was the first time in months that Minato didn’t have any paperwork to fill out so he was home early. They didn’t get to eat any though because an angry Tsunade came barging into his house with Master Jiraiya in tow. 

“MINATO! I have to speak with you right now.” Tsunade’s arms were shaking. 

“I think this would be better if we went to your home office,” Master Jiraiya said from behind her. 

Minato could tell this was serious, he had never seen that face on Master Jiraiya before. 

“Okay I’ll be right there. Kushina, darling, stay here I’ll fill you in later.”

Kushina gave him a little wave to hurry. She knew this was serious. 

Entering the office, Minato saw Tsunade looking out the window. She stood still, her arms crossed in front of her. Master Jiraiya was gazing at a photo of Minato’s old genin team. 

Tsunade broke the silence. Her voice was silent and cold. 

“Orochimaru came to me yesterday. This was the first time in years that he has talked to me, both of us being busy, me with the hospital and him with the S-Rank missions. When I opened the door I could tell something was off, he looked shaken. He was silent when he entered my house. I kept trying to get him to talk but he wouldn’t say anything.”

Tsunade stopped, and she took time to collect her thoughts. 

“Then after a while it's like a flood gate opened, Orchimaru started rambling fast. He was talking about Danzo and Sarutobi. That both of them were trying to make him do something but he kept refusing. That made both of them angry so they swamped him with missions. Missions that were both psychologically and physically harmful that sometimes Orchimaru had nightmares and couldn’t sleep for days.” 

Tears were flowing from Tsuande’s face. Minato learned from his genin days that the Legendary Sannin were so close knit that when one got hurt the whole team felt it.

“He kept apologizing to me. He said he was sorry about not talking to Jiraiya or me in years. I told him it wasn’t his fault but then he said something that shocked me.” 

Tsunade looked at Master Jiraiya to finish this story.

“He said that Danzo and Sarutobi plan to kill the Uchiha and Hyuga head clans.” 

The events that happened afterwards left Minato in a daze. Minato, Tsunade, and Master Jiraiya left to go find Danzo and Sarutobi but the damage had already been done. The Uchiha and Hyuga Head Clans were dead. Danzo and Sarutobi were sentenced for public execution that Minato personally oversaw. Nobody dared to complain, it seemed that both Danzo and Sarutobi had no friends anyway. To placate the village, the whole council was swapped with the clan heads. Hiruzen was written out of history and Minato was inducted as the new Third Hokage. 

Now, Minato sits in the Hokage’s office. Thinking about these past few months was giving him a headache. A man who he looked up to, turned out to be a coward. The two most powerful clan heads were dead and it was taking a long time for the Hyuga and Uchiha clans to trust the village again. On top of that, Kushina was pregnant. He worried about the safety of his wife and future child. 

Minato was interrupted by Shikaku who walked into the room. When he became Hokage, Shikaku was his first choice for his right hand man. 

“A letter Lord Third from Suna”

Minato took the letter and read it. He huffed a little in annoyance. 

“It seems the Kazekage will be making a visit. He’s coming with his wife, children, niece, and only two bodyguards.” Minato put the scroll down. “Prepare the necessary arrangements and get me Rin, Obito, and Kakashi please.”

Shikaku bowed and left the room.

Minato needed this visit to go perfect. He couldn’t let the village seem weak. 

* * *

The gates of the leaf village looked big to Hana. This was the first time the girl left her own village. It was annoying that she couldn’t wear her headband or jacket. Hana couldn’t even acknowledge her mother. 

Natsu was dressed in her ANBU uniform. She covered her hair so as to not give away her identity. Natsu wore Kai’s old ANBU mask. 

In the village hidden in the sand, the masks weren’t animals but rather colors, Natsu’s mask had a streak of blue on it. On this mission, her name wasn’t Nastu any more. Her name was Blue. 

The trip took 3 days. They had to stop for breaks a lot because Lady Karura kept getting sick. Hana thought that for the past month Lady Karura wasn’t looking well but she didn’t want to pry. 

As the group walked closer to the village gates, Hana saw six figures. One was a woman who looked so much like her mother. This must be her Aunt Kushina that mom told her about. The one who held the nine tails inside of her. Next to the Aunt Kushina was obviously the Hokage, he was very young with yellow hair. The famous yellow flash from the stories Baki used to tell her. There was another man with spiky black hair, he had to be the Hokage’s assistant. Then there were three kids, one had grey hair and a sword on his back. He looked a little older than Hana. Another boy with goggles stood next to the grey haired boy, he looked like he was trying so hard to stand still. The last kid was a girl with purple stripes on her face. 

Hana stood close to Baki as they finally reached the gates. She practiced what her mom taught her before they left. Hana had to control her chakra to an average level so as to not give away their identity. 

“Lord Hokage thank you for this honor to visit you. I hope we didn’t give you much trouble.” Rasa’s voice was levelheaded. 

“Not a problem, Lord Kazekage. I hope the trip went well.” Minato’s voice was calm and collected. 

“Yes, it was, thank you. Let me introduce you to my family and shinobis.” Rasa turned to Natsu first. “This is my ANBU bodyguard, Blue. They will be staying close to me at all times so no need to send them off to the ANBU headquarters.” Rasa stopped to see if Minato would object and was pleased when the Hokage just nodded. 

Hana saw Aunt Kushina stare intently at mother. She wondered if Aunt Kushina did remember mom. 

After Blue bowed, Rasa moved unto Baki. 

“This is Baki. He is a jonin but also training to be a member of my council.”

Baki bowed but even Hana could tell that this was the first time Baki heard this news.

“And this is my niece, Hana.”

All eyes were on Hana. The girl calmed her breathing and gave a polite bow to the Hokage. She smiled a little but made sure not to show her teeth. From the corner of her eye, she saw the grey haired boy stare at her. 

“My children, Temari and Kankuro.”

At this, Aunt Kushina melted at the cuteness of the children. 

“What adorable children you have, Lord Kazekage!”

“Thank you but it’s all my wife’s work. Speaking of which, this is Lady Karura.”

Lady Karura gave a bow then spoke quietly but elegantly. 

“Thank you, my children are very precious to me.”

Aunt Kushina smiled and her hands reached her stomach. 

Blue took notice of this in her mind. So her cousin was pregnant?

Lord Hokage took this chance to introduce his entourage. 

“I’m pleased to meet all of you. I would first like to introduce you to my right hand, Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan.”

Shikaku bowed politely. Hana thought that the man looked kind but also strict when he wanted to be. 

“Next these are my shinobis that I personally taught, the first one is Kakashi Hatake who is a jonin and next to him is Obito Uchiha who is a chunin.”

Both boys bowed. Rasa smiled and spoke up.

“Yes, I have heard of how well you two work on missions.”

Hana saw that the grey-haired boy, Kakashi, looked proud but the one with goggles, Obito, looked like he was having trouble hiding his smile. 

“The final one is Rin Nohara who is exceptional at medical ninjutsu and is currently training under Lady Tsunade herself.” 

The girl bowed. Hana thought that Rin had more sense than the two boys. 

“My how proud you must be of your students Lord Hokage.” Rasa politely said. 

“Yes, I have a lot to be proud of.” Minato chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He caught himself before he lost concentration. 

“Finally, this is my beautiful wife, Kushina.” 

Aunt Kushina bowed. Hana really did see how much her mother and Aunt Kushina looked. 

“Now that introductions are over would you like me to give you a tour around the village, Lord Rasa?”

Rasa looked delighted.

“Yes, I would very much like to see the village.”

Hana followed the group into the village. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minato will be referred to as Lord Third now.


End file.
